Troubleshooting

Troubleshooters!

First of all, congratulations on actively seeking out answers, stepping out of comfort zones, and choosing to not give up when we hit these technical snags. They will always come up, and over time you actually become really good at problem solving and figuring things out.

I've outlined some common issues below, but let me also share some resources that I turn to when I have a wtf is going wrong moment :)

Google and Youtube are our best friends. I like seeing the solution visually, so I usually start with Youtube. Type in "how to fix..." your problem, in the search, and sometimes you'll want to rephrase it if you're not finding the answer right away. If I'm still not really finding the answer, I turn to Google. Most answers will be found on a website called Gearspace... however be warned, sometimes the people in the forum just like to hear themselves talk, so it can be a little bit of sifting through bs lol. Try different things, and never underestimate the mantra, "unplug it and plug it back in." Restarting Pro Tools, or restarting your computer literally might fix things half the time. You got this, don't give up!!

Installing Pro Tools

Problems Importing Instrumental

Opened Pro Tools and see nothing on the screen

No sound playing from speakers or mic signal

This can be for lots of reasons. Here is a list of things to try one at a time until you fix it:

1. Double check everything that needs to be plugged in is plugged in. Mic cable into the mic, mic cable into the interface, interface into the computer, and interface is turned on.

2. Playback Engine is set to the correct device. By the way, often when you open Pro Tools, it guesses which Playback Engine to set you to, and is incorrect a lot lol. So open Setup (dropdown menu top of screen -> Playback Engine, and choose your correct device. Read more about playbck engine issues below.

3. Condenser microphones will not get sound if the 48v (phantom power) button on your interface is not engaged. Push the button :)

4. For USB microphones, you may need a driver installed. Google your USB mic and the word "drivers" and find your download. Re-open Pro Tools, and you should find your mic/driver listed as a playback engine (choose that one)! Side note, I DON'T recommend USB for singing. Go with an XLR connecting mic and interface if you can!

5. Make sure the I/O settings on the track you plan to record onto are correct. The input should be assigned to the input your mic is plugged into, likely Mic 1. Output should be 1-2 unless you're doing fancy routing that you learn in my course. IF your "input" is grayed out and it isn't letting you set it to your mic, see some options below under "Playback Engine & I/O Issues."

6. Is your track record armed? You actually will not see any green signal until you press the record button on the track, which allows sound to come through. (by the way, there are two record buttons to know about, this one on the track sets this track to receive the audio, and then you'll need to press the big record button on the top of your Edit window when you're ready for a take... then hit play start recording).

7. #unplugitandplugitbackin lol... Restarting Pro Tools often clears up issues, and if not, also try restarting your computer. If you're still having problems, it may be something more complex. Read more in the next section, "Playback Engine & I/O Issues."

Playback Engine & I/O Issues

1. If you have the Playback Engine window in Pro Tools open, and THEN you plug in your interface, you will need to close this window ad re-open it for your engine to appear.

2. Pro Tools commonly selects the wrong Playback Engine automatically when you open a session, so get used to checking if your Playback Engine is set to the correct device, you'll have to change it a lot.

4. If you're not able to set the Input on your track to your Mic Input 1 or 2, go to Setup -> I/O -> Click on the Input tab at the top of this window, and find the "Default" button, and click it. Do this in the Output tab as well.

5. For my friends who are playing with Pro Tools and no microphone, depending on your operating system, things can get weird af. On Mac, the engine you choose should be Macbook External Headphones. It worked for me, but it did not work for my friend Jason's computer. He was hearing through headphones, but not able to record into the internal mic. Changing it to Mac Internal Mic did allow him to now record, but then his sound was playing through speakers and not headphones. Ugh. First try using the Pro Tools Aggregate I/O as a Playback Engine, and that might solve it. If not, we may have to create a new Aggregate Device. Hang on to your hats... On Mac, search your computer for the app called Audio Midi Setup. Click the plus button on the bottom left corner of the app - you are going to essentially make a new Playback Engine that let's two engines connect at once - in the list it gives you for options, check the check boxes for your external headphones (they might have to be plugged in for it to appear in the list), your internal microphone, and your mac speakers. Save this, and you can click on the name Aggregate Device and Rename it. Close and re-open Pro Tools, and now you should see that new Device name as a Playback Engine option. Nailed it.

6. Creating a new Aggregate Device might also be a fix for people attempting to use Bluetooth headphones, but you'll need a driver called Blackhole first. Also also, if you're trying to use a USB mic, and an interface for your speakers, which is weird, you're weird but I like you, create an Aggregate Device to combine the two engines.

Pro Tools keeps crashing or freezing

Why? Because your computer can't handle it. Here are a bunch of ways you can optimize your computer to perform better and prevent crashing. Do all of these things and if you're still having issues, it might actually be time to consider buying a new computer.

Make sure you’re saving your session to an external hard drive, this takes a lot of pressure off of your computer so it can operate better.
Close any programs you don’t need to be using, let your computer focus only on running pro tools.
If your computer is starting to get kinda full, it’ll start to lag. You probably have a ton of photos and videos that don’t need to be there. An easy fix is to move those onto an external hard drive. Check your downloads folder as you probably have a bunch of stuff in there you don’t need anymore. Trash it and then make sure to empty your trash can.
Turn off a lot of plugins you don’t really need while in the recording stages.
Changing your hardware buffer size affects your CPU usage. Ideally when recording we want our buffer size lower, because then our computer takes less time to process incoming audio and that’ll also help reduce the amount of latency/delay you hear in your headphones. But if your computer is taxed and performing super slow, or crashing a lot, increasing the hardware buffer size allows your computer more time to process the audio. This will make your computer perform better, but it will increase the latency in your headphones. If it’s a matter of getting the session to not crash, then you’ll wanna increase this sample size for sure.
Using aux sends for your effects, and using an aux track for your vocal chains is a huge one because you don’t need to use as many plugins. For example I use one reverb plugin, and all of my vocal tracks are using this one reverb through a send. We spend a lot of time learning how to do this in my 8 week course ;)
Use the commit function or print your effects. If you know you’re happy and done with tuning or some special effects you’ve put on the track. You can print that effect to the track, and then deactivate the plugin.

Got Problems?

If you don't see the issue you're facing here, tell me about it and I'll look into adding it to the list!

Please note, I don't have all the answers to life and Pro Tools's riddles. I'm also not humanly able to be everyone's personal troubleshooter, so this page is the next best thing. I'm doing my best :)